Any one have info on the status of the IRS? It's been awfully quiet on that front...

R.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), February 23, 1999

Answers

shhhhhhh. if we just keep quiet about it, maybe they'll go away.

-- Y2K (ain't all@bad.com), February 23, 1999.

Roland, tax filing time is soon upon us slaves.
The IRS is 100% compliant NOW! New, improved, better than ever, spankin tootin sharp goliath computer systems. We're more omniscient than ever before, meaning, don't anyone have any little twinky thought that mebbe ya'll can take advantage of this here Y2K snafu and not pony up all your pennies.
That's right, we're all done, 100% compliant, plus have 25,000,000 fresh newly trained auditors this special year to make sure y'all don't slip out the back door.

1999 Form 1040
How much did you make?
Send it in.
NOW. And shut up.

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 23, 1999.

LOL, Leska...much more honest that what we'll ever get from the Feds!

R.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), February 23, 1999.

The last word heard was in October, 1998. "We will be completely compliant and finished with everything by January, 1999."

It's now February, 1999. No announcement that they had succeeded. Guess that means they failed.

By the way, whole fed government is due to complete March 31, 1999 according to Clinton.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.R@csaatl.com), February 23, 1999.

The problem I see with Leska's post is that one day i think the IRS tax form WILL look just like that and still the majority of sheeple won't think twice.

-- (anon@mous.com), February 23, 1999.

Look on page 44 of the 1040 tax guide. It says to send your payment to the UNITED STATES TREASURE. What can you read into that.

May GODS Will Be Done

Mike

-- flierdude (mkessler0101@sprynet.com), February 23, 1999.

Need extra $ for Y2k prep?
Most people do not owe income tax, so they can stop withholding/quarterly pre-payments, and stop filing.
http://goodbiz.com/tbks/

-- a (A@AisA.com), February 23, 1999.

I'm not particularly keen on the whole idea of our society collapsing into a big heap. I've grown kind of fond of hot showers, Domino's delivery, dental hygiene, to name a few things.

But...if everything does wind up in the crapper, the silver lining on our dark cloud will be the fact that the IRS will be deaf, dumb, and blind.

We may have to pay taxes with sacks of grain and hogs, but it's *got* to be a simpler system than the nightmare which exists today.

-- rick blaine (y2kazoo@hotmail.com), February 23, 1999.

My prediction if there is some semblance of Government next year...

Flat Tax

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), February 23, 1999.

As I recall, and sometimes that is difficult, the IRS spent 4 billion dollars over an 11 year period ending in 1997 to upgrade their ancient systems. This turned out to be a spectacular failure. I also believe last year that they hired a new CIO. Can't remember if the previous one quit or retired. Then late last year they announced a mega billion dollar contract was let to upgrade their systems by 2004 or thereabouts.

Any Questions about their status??

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), February 23, 1999.

Yea, Andy, I totally agree - Flat Tax. I've always thought that that was why Steve Forbes "ran" for the Presidential nomination in '96 with his flat tax platform. Not because he actually wanted to be the Pres, (no sane person would) but because the PTB were starting to condition us to get used to the idea...

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), February 23, 1999.

Here's a link to a story from October 23, 1998...

http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,27886,00.html?st.ne.ni.lh

[begin article] IRS will be Y2K ready by 1999 By Reuters Special to CNET News.com October 23, 1998, 5:10 a.m. PT It will cost $1 billion to pull it off and "glitches" are inevitable, but the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's computers will be ready to fight the millennium bug on January 1, 1999, IRS's chief said yesterday.

"The moment of truth is very near on Y2K," Charles Rossotti told hundreds of certified public accountants meeting here this week.

"The overall message is that while there may be--and probably will be--some glitches, the good news is that all key [IRS] systems will be Y2K compliant by January 1999," Rossotti said.

The Year 2000--or Y2K--problem stems from the early days of computers, when memory was a precious commodity.

Programmers used only two digits to indicate the year, an economy measure that may cause computers to recognize 2000 as 1900 or to fail all together.

And that spells havoc for those public and private entities nationwide that do not spend the dollars and time needed to gear up for Y2K.

"This is very, very dramatic," Rossotti said of IRS's efforts.

"To give you an idea of the scale, it's costing over $1 billion to do," he said. "We're talking twice what General Motors is going to spend," he said.

Rossotti said the Service already has run into some embarrassing snafus in its preliminary preparations. "There were a few people who got notices saying they owe the IRS $300 million," he said.

Fortunately, their tax advisers called the agency for an explanation, he said.

Turning to other front-burner issues, Rossotti said the Service will have a detailed "blueprint"for restructuring the agency--as mandated earlier this year by the U.S. Congress--by April 15, 1999.

Planners want to divide IRS into four operating sectors.

They would target the nation's 90 million salaried individuals, its 39 million small businesses, its 80,000 corporations and the 1.5 million tax-exempt entities, including state and local governments.

Rossotti said the Service hopes to complete reorganizations for the latter two sectors--the corporate and tax-exempt divisions--by the end of 1999.

IRS has launched a broad talent search, in both the public and private sectors, for two people to head those divisions, Rossotti said.

Story Copyright ) 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), February 23, 1999.

Is this the same Charles Rosotti who less than a year ago was begging Congress to hold off on new tax reforms because the IRS couldn't handle the changes in the tax code AND fix its y2k problems? (Congress ignored him, of course.) Is this the same IRS whose previous CIO quit when he realized the magnitude of the agency's y2k problem? Is this the same IRS that put out an RFP *last summer* searching for someone, anyone, to fix its computer problems and awarded the contract in September for a fully compliant system by March?

Got toast?

-- Cash (cash@andcarry.com), February 23, 1999.

Good News About the IRS:

Good News #1-- They hired the lowest bidder for the project. You get what you pay for.

Good New #2 -- Many of the system/programmer people are recently-audited independant contractors. You reap what you sow.

Good News #3 -- The IRS is in bigy2k trouble. Behind every cloud is a silver lining.

-- PNG (png@gol.com), February 23, 1999.

A isAIS A IS a!!!!!IS a?????? A IS???? HoW WILL YOU Pass yOUR TImE IN THE pEN????? HAVe YoU BEeN PRAcTIcING YOuR PIG SquEELiNG NOiSES????EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEE!!!!!OiNk??????

WHaT KINd of A MoRon wOuld trUst THeSE bOOks????? wrIttEN BY A FOoLISH fELLOW,YeS???? whO SAYS HE WiLL shOw yOu whAt aLL of tHE OTHeR IDIoTJACkASSeS WHO Tryed thIS Did wrOng????? RiGHT BeFore thEy EndeD UP IN PrISoN ?????SToP YouR FOoLISHNESS!!!!!stOPPIT NOW I SaY!!!!!!HoLD THe maYo!!!!!HeLLo?????

-- Dieter (questions@toask.com), February 23, 1999.

IRS compliancy? Well, Alan Simpson of comlinks y2k site & Ed Yardeni both emailed me saying the basic same thing.They feel after talking with the commissioner and yo-yo Bill's y2k czar -Konizken(??),the IRS would make the deadline.I still do not believe it.BUT, I repeat,BUT, the Treasury Dept.,who issues the checks, will NOT make it.Interesting. I think I smell future toast, burned to a crisp.I love the smell.

-- ABRAXAS (FLYNNCO2@aol.com), February 25, 1999.

In reference to the IRS compliance, the first thing the government ALWAYS thinks of is their money. Money is Power and Power is Money. One of the main items to come out of the last Upstate y2k meeting is that the computers in Atlanta WILL be compliant and no records of taxes owed will be lost. The IRS rep (Mr. Ted vonderhis) was far less revealing in whether or not Treasury will be compliant. Does this mean that they will be able to collect but not disburse? Remember that Treasury controls a lot more than just the tax refunds. How compliant is the rest of Treasury? (like BATF and their records). I would plan on filing my 1040 in 2000...but don't expect your refund in any 8-10 weeks (providing the USPO is working and has fuel for it's trucks). The major kick to our society would be if we cannot import oil or process it once it's here. That would make the IRS question academic. (I'll write them a check on a closed bank) Lobo

-- Lobo (hiding@woods.com), February 25, 1999.

Which deadline? How do they meet the deadlines they missed? Time travel? LOL

-- PNG (png@gol.com), February 25, 1999.

IRS Warns of Y2K Glitches

[ For Educational Purposes Only ]

IRS Warns of Y2K Glitches
Agency Warns of Minor Problems, But No Meltdown

Erich Luening, CNET NEWS.COM

Taxpayers may soon feel the bite of the Y2K bug.

Internal Revenue Service officials warned yesterday that taxpayers may encounter annoying computer flaws this year and next because of the Year 2000 technology problem.

Speaking before the House Ways and Means Committee, administration officials, along with IRS and other government officials, described the impact on taxpayers and beneficiaries.

The most startling warning came from commissioner Charles Rossotti, who explained that even though the IRS is confident there will be no systemwide meltdown, there may be some localized problems, according to a report in today's Wall Street Journal.

The commissioner said that his department has made major strides in fighting the Y2K computer bug, and that the overall picture is "generally positive." Nevertheless, he added, "there is still a great deal of risk and some trouble spots," and that the next 90 days "represent the riskiest period."

When asked about his use of such strong language, he said, "We want to be realistic. We do still have risks because we have all these different changes that have been made -- $1 billion worth of changes. No matter how well you test, you can't find everything," the commissioner said.

The IRS commissioner also said the agency has already set up contingency plans to detect and respond to any problems that occur.
... [snip]
At yesterday's hearing, other government officials supported Rossotti's claims that there won't be nationwide system failures in industries, just local inconveniences.
--------------------------------------------------------------

This "local" euphemism always cracks us up. Duh, if *anything* happens, of course it will happen locally. Even a meteor hits "locally."

If everybody in the USA gets a tax bill for $5,325,883,999,898.99, that will hit everybody locally, at their kitchen table, and more specifically, hunched over the loo. Very local impact. All the Y2K disruptions will happen locally, everywhere.

Even an atomic bomb or nuclear war -- each person will melt down locally, wherever they happen to be standing. Duh. Loco Local -- give us a break; all the sheeple will not be assured and kept anesthetized by LOCAL euphemisms!

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 25, 1999.

Audit finds IRS not able to balance its books

[ For Educational Purposes Only ]

3/1/99 -- 11:37 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal agency whose threat of an audit strikes fear in the hearts of American taxpayers did a poor job of keeping its own financial books last year, congressional investigators reported today.

The General Accounting Office found that the Internal Revenue Service experienced ``serious internal control and financial management issues'' that resulted in millions of dollars in fraudulent refunds, failure to keep track of assets like cars and computers and substandard computer security controls.

``The IRS cannot do some of the basic accounting and record-keeping tasks that it expects American taxpayers to do,'' said Gregory Kutz, who oversaw the audit for GAO.

``Think of this as not balancing your checkbook with the monthly bank statement, and at the same time having a system prone to error,'' Kutz told the House Government Reform Committee's panel on government management.

IRS officials were quick to take full responsibility for the problems, which they said were largely rooted in the agency's antiquated computer systems. But they were clearly embarrassed by the report, coming as it does while the IRS attempts to become more efficient and more customer-friendly.

``I am deeply disappointed that we failed to meet our obligations,'' said Donna Cunninghame, IRS chief financial officer. ``This is unacceptable.''

The GAO found IRS did a good job of collecting $1.8 trillion in tax revenue in fiscal 1998. The problems were found in the agency's administration of an $8.1 billion annual budget. They include: -At least $17 million paid out in fraudulent refunds in the first nine months of 1998. Another $65 million in refunds were stopped by IRS investigators.

-Improper paperwork to keep track of items such as a Chevrolet Blazer, a $300,000 laser printer, laptop computers, televisions and fax machines. Most of these were accounting errors, not thefts.

-Poor computer security, including controls on access to sensitive taxpayer information.

-Inadequate controls over basic financial reporting, inability to focus on accounts most likely to result in tax collection and failure to reconcile IRS balances with Treasury Department records.

Many of these problems are chronic, and Cunninghame said the new management team at IRS is redoubling efforts to eliminate them. She pledged improved performance in fiscal 1999, but said the agency's computer systems must be modernized for a long-term fix.

``It will take time, and it won't be easy,'' she said. ``The IRS must replace nearly its entire inventory of computer applications.''

=================================================================
Huh? Look at the dates. These are the same folks saying they're already compliant, all remediated? Is there a disconnect here folks?

xxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), March 01, 1999.

Latest blurb on news radio was: IRS is not even able to audit its own systems....only collects one tenth of owed back taxes....

My question: why do people continue to submit to IRS tyranny....2 years ago there was some woman on network television "inviting" people to "come back into the system"(Come into my web said the spider to the fly)....the IRS is admitting 50 million US citizens "out of the system"..at that time they said they would welcome everyone back with open and loving arms...You can bet the numbers are a lot higher and that the IRS is the biggest Emperor's New Clothes Game in the Universe.

Anyway...ranting aside, the IRS itself is saying we can't even audit our own agency....(ock, ock, ock...earth humor)

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), March 01, 1999.

Even through the above, I still have seen nothing "updating" their promised "January" compliance date to anything else - anybody else?

But the fed government will be completely ready by March 31.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), March 02, 1999.